The Chemical and Physical Environment:

Measures of physiological performance;

Temperature; Salinity; Oxygen; Light
Class 4-5
 Measuring sea surface temperature (SST)
How to measure SST?
• To measure SST, scientists deploy
temperature sensors on satellites, buoys,
ships, ocean reference stations, and
through marine telemetry.
• The NOAA-led U.S. Integrated Ocean
Observing System (IOOS®) and NOAA's
Center for Satellite Applications and
Research (STAR) merge their data to
provide SSTs worldwide.
Optional reading: Half a century of satellite remote sensing of sea-surface temperature
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425719303852
 Importance of measuring the SST
• SST provides fundamental information on the global climate system.
• SST is an essential parameter in weather prediction and atmospheric model
simulations, and is also important for the study of marine ecosystems.
• SST data are especially useful for identifying the onset of El Niño and La Niña
cycles.
• Application of SST measurements:
• climate and seasonal monitoring/forecasting
• military defense operations
• validation of atmospheric models
• sea turtle tracking
• evaluation of coral bleaching
• tourism
• commercial fisheries management, etc.
Source: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sea-surface-temperature.html#:~:text=To%20measure%20SST%2C%20scientists%20deploy,data%20to%20provide%20SSTs%20worldwide
 Measurement of conductivity (salinity),
temperature and depth (CTD)
• A CTD is an observational instrument to measure the
conductivity (salinity), temperature and underwater pressure
(depth) of the ocean, electrically.
• The instrument is deployed in the ocean connected by cable
to observe a vertical profile of the temperature and salinity.
• This data are utilized to analyze the characteristics of
seawater and current.
CTD water sampling

https://www.jamstec.go.jp/e/about/equipment/observe/seawater.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOuJt4_TRP0
 Oxygen in Ocean

Fig. Changes in the concentration of oxygen at different depths

Dissolved oxygen is important to many
forms of aquatic life
Factors Influencing the Amount of Dissolved Oxygen in
Seawater
• Oxygen can be introduced to a
body of water in two ways:
• 1) as a byproduct of photosynthesis
by phytoplankton and marine plants
and algae and
• 2) through physical mixing of water,
usually by wind and waves.
• Oxygen can be depleted from the
water in two ways:
• 1) by animals, including fish,
breathing underwater and
• 2) during the breakdown of organic
matter by bacteria. Dissolved oxygen concentrations can fluctuate daily and
seasonally.
Ocean oxygen measuring instruments

Oxygen measurement video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIFp_WHgNF4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jk0AmmuLSY
Any question?